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Caro-Kann is a great weapon to add to your repertoire against 1. e4. There are numerous ways to fight white’s opening advantage and to get a lot of attacking chances.
The starting move of the opening is 1…c6, in response to e4. With this move black is preparing to challenge the center by pushing d5 (instead of challenging it directly as he does in the symmetrical e4 e5 openings or in the Sicilian Defense). The Caro Kann is a very flexible opening choice and it branches out into several key variations. Each will be briefly mentioned in this video, with the basic move order, ideas and plans for both sides. A separate video will be made for each individual variation where I will go into much more depth theoretically, as well as provide practical advice on move order and traps to set or to avoid.
The opening was named after Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann, two chess masters from the 19th century, who’d analyzed the main line up to move 17 and established it as a solid opening for black (which was hard to do considering the classical school of chess which frowned upon “modern openings” which don’t challenge the center immediately).
The theory of the Caro-Kann evolved a lot since then, and several key variations emerged. It’s now considered to be one of the most solid ways for black to fight against the king pawn opening.
The common variations are:
Main line:
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5
The Karpov variation:
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7
The Korchnoi and the Bronstein-Larsen variations:
1.e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6 exf6 (Korchnoi) 5…gxf6 (Bronstein-Larsen)
The Advance variation:
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
The Exchange variation:
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 (most commonly leading to the Panov-Botvinnik attack) …cxd5 4. c4
The Fantasy (Tartakower variation):
1.e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3
The Two Knights variation:
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3
The Gurgenidze variation:
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6
Players whose Caro-Kann Defense games you should study:
Anatoly Karpov, David Navara, Alexey Dreev, Tigran Petrosian
Best chess content on YouTube! Nice work
Hi sir !
could you do a chapter on the Hillbilly attaque ?
Thanks for the great explanation
7:53 are you sure it isn’t named after Mr. Variation?
Good god, how one simple idea becomes a hopeless jumble of a mess in under 60 seconds. You lost me just after "Black moves C6." Obviously studying these sorts of chess tactics is way beyond my level . . . either that or I'm really slow . . . either that or you're really fast . . .
What happened woth the video it seems corrupted..am i the onlt one experiencing this?
is it really me or this guy actually resembles Ivanchuk?
So sharp s sounds. Ouch my ears.
Voice for radio
123k should look like 123M
9:00 nothing special, for me when I get back because my brain would not absorb the lessons your teaching if I will force myself to learn it in one watch
You're a good teacher. Clearly explained with with the why and even the history.
Thanx for your content 🙏🙏🙏
at 17:01 does Qa5 not win the knight?
really good stuff-thanks
I love how he reads my mind and explains what I was thinking
Wonderful explanations and very detailed information👍🏼
Here because I can’t afford to buy the Gothamchess course. You’re a life saver bro.
Would be helpful if you explained why some moves are "forced" because it's not so obvious
Holy cow! I bet this dude could talk a table's legs off. Jam that Caro-Kann in less than 25 minutes. Great.
I like your balanced discussion very much. I like the way you get to the point with complete coverage of the important lines. I like the pace. The video is packed with information that I can unwrap by reviewing with a board in front of me. The discussion of theory is the perfect depth for a player of my caliber. Thank you very much!
I'm loving all these past videos.
Stefan, the queen in the back is threatening back rank mate.
I play with someone who after e4 c6 plays e5.
you look like Russian Elon Musk
Your channel is a treasure trove for opening education. Thanks man. By the way I was wondering what your GF was doing in the background. First I though she was watching birds or spying on neighbors until I realized that she is moving mouse and perhaps busy with another computer.
Great VIdeos sir. I am glad I found your channel.
I play the Caro-Kann almost exclusively against E4. I will be checking out all of these video's.
Hi Sir. I really admire your efforts. Such a quality content. I really love your channel. It's too underrated. ❤️❤️
Great video. Thank you so much for your knowledge and clear presentation.
Wow. Just fantastic stuff. So clear and concise, without sacrificing depth. Thanks so much. Has me excited to play the Caro-Kann.
This rules not work on real game 😂😭
Posting this 3 years after the video was posted. Another idea for black, particularly in the advance variation, is to delay developing your white Bishop on move 3 and push c5 instead. If white plays kf6 you immediately pin it with the intention of taking it and trading off your light squared Bishop.
In most variations of the Caro Kann black is going to end up with most of his pawns on white squares and the light squared Bishop ends up being a weak piece.
Another idea is if White uses his light squared Bishop to check your king block with your light squared Bishop, again with the intent of trading it off. You are trading your weak Bishop for his strong Bishop,
Treating the bishop for the knight might be seen as giving up the bishop pair at really high levels but for a lot of mere mortals you are just getting rid of a piece that will ultimately end up gettin0g chased around by pawns and backed into a corner to be traded off anyways.
At 16:01 could you also push the f-pawn? You would remove one of the central pawns and can easily recapture if he takes or pushes his e-pawn. I’m new to chess so I’m just curious on your opinion.
Can somebody please tell me , is the caro kahn a good choice for a begginer below 1300 elo ? Or should I choose the french defence?
Note from a strong chessplayer: There are 3 reasons why GMs dont play Caro-Kann every game against e4. The advance variation is superscary with many nice ideas to simply destroy black. The mainline forces you to give up your pawncenter dxe4; its a big commitment. Many annoying sidelines, like Panov and 2)d3.
Fan of the channel.
17:02 why can't black play QA5 instead of NC6. There is knight for capture
Thanks man! I like chess!
0:00 Introduction
1:51 Main line (3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5)
7:49 Karpov [Modern] Variation (4…Nd7)
11:11 Korchnoi and Bronstein-Larsen Variations (4…Nf6)
13:33 Advance Variation (3.e5 Bf5)
14:39 Short Variation (4.Nf3)
15:45 Bayonet Attack (4.Nc3 e6 5.g4)
17:27 Return to Short Variation
19:14 Fantasy Variation (3.f3)
21:26 Exchange Variation (3.exd5 cxd5)
22:30 Panov-Botvinnik Attack (4.c4)
23:39 Gurgenidze Variation (3.Nc3 g6)
24:27 Conclusion
found you through your caro-kann study on lichess. thanks for these videos!
what website is he using for the video? He's on a chess database right?
You're not only a great chess teacher but you have a very lovely wife. 😉
Really nice presentation thank you. I have played Caro for a long time but really just learned by trial and error against Stockfish. This really helps me get a better picture.
I am studying all opening theory about caro-kann. Wish me luck!
Is there a video on 3 c5 caro.?? Botvinik carls defence
Amazing explanation as always 🙂 thank you so much!
Great overview!! Thanks so much /
Korchnoi variation? It's the Tartakower and there is plenty of counterplay
thank you for helping me study for a tournament 😀